Brave

Summary: A few times Samantha Carter thought she might give in to fear... Then heard a gentle voice whisper that she was "very brave."


Chapter One: The First Time

The darkness closed in around her. She was alone. All alone.

She trembled as she shut her blue eyes tightly. Took a deep breath. Then rolled out of bed and padded quietly out into the hallway.

Even the house she loved so much felt big, dark, and empty. Not warm and cheery like usual.

She searched the door she sought. Not that one. That one led to the basement. She shuddered at the thought of even more darkness and the stairs... So many stairs.

She looked across the hall. Nope. That was the bathroom. Still not what she was looking for.

Finally, she saw the room with the large bed and two figures sleeping inside. Relief flooded her veins as she pushed the door open a little more.

One figure gasped, and Samantha stopped. Her heart pounded in fear.

She must have stayed quiet long enough because he went back to sleep.

She breathed out a sigh of relief before she tiptoed to the other side of the bed and tried to climb up without waking the bed's inhabitant.

The larger body stirred, but Sam was so focused on her task she almost didn't notice. Not until two strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her into an embrace. "Samantha, what are you doing?"

She turned her big blue eyes to her mother, the tears coming quickly now that she was safe. She pointed to her parents' big bed. "I sleep here."

It didn't sound quite the way her parents spoke. Not even quite the way her older brother, Mark, spoke. But it was the best she could do, and Mom always seemed to know what she wanted.

Mom pulled her close and kissed her forehead. "No, Samantha, you don't sleep here. Dad and I sleep here. You have that brand new bed you get to sleep in, remember?"

Samantha frowned. That was another painful point, but she hadn't planned on mentioning it.

Mom slipped out from under the covers, Sam in her arms, as they walked back to her bedroom.

Sam started to cry. Tried to wiggle out of her mother's embrace. How could she explain? She didn't have enough words. It was all so frustrating.

Mom stopped in the hallway. "Are you scared, sweet girl?"

The tears that came when someone finally figured it out. From finally being understood.

Mom gently pulled her in for another snuggle, rubbing her back with one hand. "I know this house can be so big and dark sometimes, but I don't think you realized something important."

Sam's head raised a little.

Mommy put her finger under Sam's chin so she could look into the blue eyes they shared. "You are very brave."

Brave?

Mom pointed at Sam's bedroom door. It seemed so far away now, when she was in Mommy's arms. "You were scared, but you knew where you could get help. Sammy, sweetie, I'm so proud of you."

Mommy gave her another kiss as they walked back to the bedroom. Then, turned on the light.

Sam sighed in relief as Mommy set her back down on the floor. There was Teddy. In his usual place on the dresser. And her books. There were the star paintings Sam liked to try to climb up to.

Even her bed wasn't as scary with the bright colors and star blankets.

She climbed back into bed, this time snuggling the star pillow she'd dropped sometime in the night.

Mommy sat on the bed next to her. "See, you like your bed when the lights are on. It's just when it gets dark that you get a little scared."

Mom pointed up at the yellow light. "That light doesn't go anywhere. We just turn it off at night because it's easier to sleep that way."

Mom stood up again and turned off the light.

Terror gripped Sam's heart. "Ma!"

The lights came back on, and Mommy pointed at the light on the ceiling. "It's still there. I'm still here. You're very brave, Samantha. You can do this."

That word. Brave. Apparently, it was a good thing. And it seemed to mean that she needed to stay in bed. Even with the lights off. And even if Mommy was gone.

Her stomach flip-flopped.

Mommy and Daddy were safe. If they said she could do this...

Sam clutched her star to her chest and burrowed into her blankets. Well, if they were going to make her stay in her bed with the lights off, at least she could choose when the darkness came.

There was a click outside, then a hand rested on Samantha's back. "You're very brave, sweet girl."

Though Sam wanted nothing more than to fling herself back into her mother's arms, there was a warm feeling in her chest. I am very brave.

She still wasn't sure what that meant, but if Mommy thought it was a good thing to be, that was good enough for her.

It felt like hardly any time had passed when that hand weighed down her back again. "Good morning, my brave girl. How did you sleep?"

Sam poked her head out from under her covers as she blinked at her mother's face. Morning? Already?

Her arm still firmly around her star, she rolled out of bed. Her stomach gurgled like it did when she was hungry. "Eat?"

Mommy laughed, picked her up, and kissed her again. "You're in luck, kiddo. I just made pancakes. Any chance you'll sleep in your bed all night tonight, brave girl?"

Sam just sighed as she rested her cheek on Mommy's shoulder. Maybe sleeping alone in the dark wasn't so bad after all.


Author's Note: Where possible, I will include my inspiration at the bottom of each chapter. Here is this chapter's inspiration:

"Still doubting me, Colonel? I haven't been afraid of the dark since I was two." - Samantha Carter, Emancipation, 01x03

As a quick aside, the entire vignette series was inspired by Sam's use of the phrase, "You're very brave" as seen in Singularity and Birthright. I think we can all use a little resurgence of this sentiment as we face some turbulent times. Hopefully these little stories will help you see that you, too, are very brave. - RS